There are two definitions of talking "bad" about India.One is the truth,the filth,the poverty,corruption and pollution.The other is ignorance,the hatred against Hinduism for example,or the saying that people from India are inferior and things like that.
Well about Hinduism,this might take long,you don't have to read all of it,but of course if you do,it will increase your understanding of why the holy land of Bharat (India) is in devistation right now,and how Hindu scriptures relate with it.This is a little bit about Hinduism.
I believe in one eternal absolute source of all living and non living ,the supreme conciousness,the absolute truth ,the alpha and omega.The being is known as Brahman. The source of consciousness itself, God is seen as the shape of the Universe and has the cosmic form and that cosmic form is... everything pretty much. All that exists, God is the shape of the Universe.You can call this ultimate reality Jesus,Allah,Zeus etc.
Stating this we humans must think of a personified being that speaks out to us. But there has to be a personified being. This is known as param Brahman or in other words, god personified into consciousness. And this is the being we humans ponder for and want to serve eternally. God personified is what we call Vishnu-Krishna. Vishnu being the preserver of the material creation and Krishna being the maintainer of heaven(the eternal destination is Krishna), an eternal place of bliss where the happiest moment in our life multiplied by hundreds of billions would fail to equal a fraction of the happiness there. And for the enjoyment of all of us there is whatever form we would like to think of, in our belief that form is Krishna who is with the flute and the peacock feather who is as beautiful as a million cupids .In the form of however we choose to see him we are his eternal servant .The spiritual creation is infinite in size and always expanding, too much for us to comprehend lets talk about Vishnu. In the abode of Vaikuntha Vishnu is the preserve of all things in the material world. The absolute truth for us, in our belief he is seen as holding the mace, conch shell , lotus flower and the chakra. He has sky blue skin. Symbolizing radiance and the eternal being, the conch symbolizes the elements of the Universe,the chakra symbolizes the almighty strength ,the eternal energy, the mace symbolizes concious stregnth and physical stregnht in living beings while the lotus flower symbolizes life ,the power of how the Universe emerges. Maha Vishnu's eternal consort is Lakshmi.In his eternal abode of Vaikuntha, infinite Universes submerge and merge into his skin. Each Universe carries another form of Vishnu known as Garbodakshaya Vishnu, still should be considered equal to Krishna and Maha Vishnu as they are the same eternal soul. Garbodakshaya Vishnu is the maintainer of our Universe and the supreme source of it.Every Universe of the infinite amounts has a Garbodakshaya Vishnu, and every Universe has a Brahma, Shiva and of course Vishnu .Every Universe has Brahma who is the creator of all things in the Universe and the first material being in every Universe. Brahma was born from the lotus flower appearing from the naval of Garbodakshaya Vishnu. Brahma is depicted with 4 heads,4 arms and sits in a lotus flower. He is not worshipped much in India because he is the only trinity with a temporary life, since he is a living being unlike Vishnu and Shiva. Shiva's duty is to destroy the whole Universe in the end of Brahma's life which is 311 trillion human years. After that Vishnu reestablishes the Universe and Brahma is again born, the attributes being the same but a different soul or new person in his position after performing millions of years of penence. Though Shiva is the inhialator he still has taken part in many ancient Hindu stories.
There is one last form of Vishnu and that is the Kshirodaksaya Vishnu.The supreme friend of all beings in the material world.The eternal soul within our soul,the super soul,the cause of our conciousness,our living force.
There are considered to be 3.5 million gods in Hinduism.They are not all gods but are demi gods,something that is misinterperted.These Demi gods manage the Universe.The current being who is the king of the Demi gods,the lord of the angels is lord Indra.At Indra Loka.The heavenly planets in our solar system.
In Hinduism our Universe is seen as having 4 ages which go through the cycle again and again until Brahma has reached the end of his life.The 4 ages are Satyayuga,Treta yuga,Dwapar yuga and Kali Yuga.Satya yuga and Treta yuga last over a million years.Dwapar yuga is 800,000 years and Kali yuga is 432,000 years.According to the Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas (Sanksrit text) which was written 5,000 years ago by Vyasudev because man had lost the capability to remember so many millions of scriptures,prayers and information,Kali Yuga is what we are in right now,the worst yuga.In this age there is murder,violence,sexuality,gamb... pregnancy and other abnormal things.And Kali Yuga is when we need god the most.In Satyayuga,the world is Utopia,people live to be 100,000 but spent most of their lives meditating on the supersoul,the eternal god.
The laws of Hinduism involve no meat eating,gambling,illicit sex or self intoxication.We tend to be vegetarian because we believe in reincarnation.The sense that we will continuously become other living entities after death based on good karma and bad karma.This determines what happens in life the future and the present.Killing an animal is bad karma according to our beliefs.There are many forms of life in the Universe,some lower,some higher then humans.Humans are one of the highest forms of life.Higher forms are demi gods and those in the abode of Brahma,Indra,Shiva etc.Other Universes have larger variaties.We do believe in hell but not in eternal suffering there.We believe in hellish planets and the demi god who determines what happens in your next life is Yamaraj,the lord of Death,who is a great servent of Vishnu.He maintains hell.Animal killing is considered bad karma.But we may ask about plants and vegetables being living things.This is true,but plants and vegetables do not have nerves nor conciousness,although they are living,they cannot feel pain because of their lack of nerves.So eating them is crime but not as punishable as animal killing.This is why we purify our vegetarian food in a proccess called prasadam.Offered food.We recite prayers before eating it,so its free of sins from killing the plant or vegetable.The caste system is one reason Hinduism is critisized.Originally it was not supposed to determine the importance of people.There was Brahmana (preists and sages),Kshytrias (warriors,kings and generals),Vishyas(bussiness owners) and Sudras (workers).It was not meant to determine our value.The Hindu epic Ramayana clearly tells that when lord Rama liberated tribals and poor people in the wilderness.Another western misinterpetation is that we worship cows,we believe the cow is sacred among animals and that god respects it because it gave things like fertalization of plants,milk,cheese,butter etc to humans and layed our foundation.
In our Universe Vishnu has 10 Avatrars for every round of 4 yugas,it is unknown whether the Avatars are only the ones on Earth or on other solar systems,it is generally believed that there or more avatars as there are waves in the sea meaning othr avatars exist in other planets.The first one being Matsya,the giant fish who was once a small 1 inch fish found by a kind.The fish got older and grew finally to be 100 times larger then a whale.The fish was raised by a king.At the peak of its size,Vishnu reveals himself and warns the king of a flood that will drain the Earth.The king gathers the low population at the time and saves the seeds of life to reestablish Earth.This event is actually Noah's ark.There are other Avatars who come along and save mankind in critical points.Two famous epics.Ramayana involoving Rama avatar and Mahabharata involving Krishna (not to be confused with the eternal being,but should not be diffrenciated).
Anyway this age is Kali Yuga,the last incarnation of god (you can say Jesus,but Jesus was the son of god) was in Dwapar Yuga,5,000 years ago,when Kali Yuga was about to begin,in the end of each age,there is a massive war or conflict.Anyway the epic that took place 5,000 years ago according to our scriptures takes thousands of pages to narrate.So the following is the most simplest way.
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kauravas, the elder branch of the family, and the Pandavas, the younger branch.
The struggle culminates in the Great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The Mahabharata itself ends with the disappearance of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty, and ascent of the Pandava brothers to Heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali (Kali Yuga), the fourth and final age of mankind, where the great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is speedily heading toward the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue. Some of the most noble and revered figures in the Mahabharata end up fighting on the side of the Kauravas, due to conflicts of their dharma, or duty. For example, Bhishma had vowed to always protect the king of Hastinapura, whoever he may be. Thus, he was required to fight on the side of evil knowing that his Pandavas would end up victorious only with his death.
Authorship
The epic is traditionally ascribed to Maha Rishi Veda Vyasa, who is one of the major dynastic characters within the epic. The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Ganesha who, at the behest of Vyasa, fixed the text in manuscript form. Lord Ganesha is said to have agreed, but only on condition that Vyasa never pause in his recitation. Vyasa then put a counter-condition that Ganesha understand whatever he recited, before writing it down. In this way Vyasa could get some respite from continuously speaking by saying a verse which was difficult to understand. This situation also serves as a popular variation on the stories of how Ganesha's right tusk was broken (a traditional part of Ganesha imagery). This version attributes it to the fact that, in the rush of writing, the great elephant-headed divinity's pen failed, and he snapped off his tusk as a replacement in order that the transcription not be interrupted.
Bhishma
Janamejaya's ancestor Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a heroic son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma).He was trained by Parashurama. Devavrata, a young man already with a reputation as a fearsome warrior, is the heir apparent to the throne.
Many years later, when the king goes hunting, he spots Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman, and wants to marry her. Eager to secure his daughter's and her children's future happiness, the fisherman refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make the future son of Satyavati the king upon his death, instead of Devavrata. To solve the king's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to that. Finding that the fisherman, though convinced of Devavrata's commitment, is not sure about the prince's children honouring the promise, Devavrata makes a severe vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise. Hearing such a vow, unheard of amongst warriors, the heavens bestow Devavrata with the name Bhishma, 'the person of the terrible oath'.
Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrangad and Vichitravirya(Vichitraveer). Upon Shantanu's death, the young Chitrangad becomes king with his elder brother Bhishma at his side, serving as a guardian and regent of sorts to the young king. After his death Vichitravirya rules Hastinapura, again with Bhishma his elder brother at his side. To have his younger brother married, Bhishma goes to Kashi for Swayamwara to get the three beautiful daughters of Kashiraj. Their names are Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Amba is in love with Salvaraj. Bhishma, on the way to Hastinapur; with the girls, had a combat with Salvaraj and other princes. He wins and goes to Hastinapura. Amba, tells about her love to Satyavati, Bhishma's step-mother. She allows her to go back to Salvaraj, who does not accept her; as it was against Kshatriya Dharma. Insulted Amba comes back to Hastinapura and asks Bhishma to marry her. Being vouched for celibacy, Bhishma rejects her, on which she curses him that she would be the cause of his Death.
When King Shantanu is on his deathbed, his concern for his children and the stability of the kingdom delays his death. To ease the king's pains Bhishma promises to stay alive until the kingdom is safe and secure. Again, an awesome promise as all kingdoms are under constant threat. This promise was to cost him dearly, giving him a long life with constant tribulations and battles. Later, though seriously wounded, Bhishma could not give up his soul until the final battle resulted in the rule of the righteous Pandavas.
The Pandavas
Unfortunately Satyavati's sons die young without any heirs. Satyavati then called her son Vyasa and through Niyoga her daughter-in-laws gave birth to Dhritrashtra and Pandu. A maid was also gifted by Vyasa with a son named Vidur. Later her grandson Pandu ascends the throne as his elder brother Dhritarashtra is blind. Pandu whilst out hunting deer, is however cursed by a sage (whom he accidentally kills while he is having sex with his wife, mistaking their moans of pleasure to be the sounds of a deer) that he can never engage in sexual act with any woman. He retires to the forest along with his two wives. His elder queen Kunti summons the gods Dharma, Vayu, and Indra by using a boon granted by another sage, Durvasa (a very short tempered sage), whom Kunti tended and cared for with great diligence), and gives birth to three sons Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna through their respective "fathers". The sons of course inherit the primary character of their respective father. Kunti shares her boon with her "sister" queen Madri, who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However Pandu and Madri, unable to resist temptation, indulge in sex and die in the forest, and Kunti returns to Hastinapura with her sons, Pandavas.
The rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas starts from childhood itself. Dhritarashtra’s sons, the Kauravas, led by the eldest Duryodhana, detest their cousins the Pandavas. However, they were the favorite of their teacher Drona and the Pandavas grow up to be exceptional. Each one of the Pandavas is said to have one exceptional strength or virtue - Yudhishthira is the most virtuous, Arjuna the bravest warrior, Bhima the strongest, Nakula the most handsome and Sahadeva wise and able to predict the future.
When the princes of Hastinapur come of age, a tournament is held to display their strength and skill. When Arjuna was hailed as a master of archery, a young man challenges him for a duel. He declares his name is Karna, and is the son of a charioteer. In reality, he was the eldest son of Kunti, to whom she gave birth before she married Pandu. Kunti had doubted the boon she received from Durvasa, and wanting to try it out, summoned the Sun God; Surya. Surya appeared before her and blessed her with a child, Karna, whom she left floating in a basket in the river Ganga in fear of him becoming an outcast for being born outside of marriage. When asked to prove that he is of royal birth, which is the criterion for joining the tournament, Duryodhana, spotting a potential ally, jumps over to his side and gives his kingdom of Anga. Karna is forever grateful for this act. Because of this, he becomes Duryodhana's closest friend and plays a crucial role in the war.
Laakshagriha (The House of Wax)
Meanwhile Duryodhana plots to get rid of the Pandavas and tries to kill the Pandavas secretly by burning their palace which is made of lac. However, the Pandavas are warned by their uncle, Vidura, who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. Therefore, when Duryodhana's servants set the house on flames, they will be able to escape in safety. After escaping from the tragedy, the Pandavas arrive in a forest and rest. Bhima and Arjuna want to confront the Kauravas, but Kunti and Yudhishthira decide against it. Bhishma goes to the river Ganga to perform the last rites of the people found dead in the burned palace, misunderstood to be Pandavas. Vidura then informs him that the Pandavas are alive and to keep the secret to himself.
There are two places in India which claim to have been the site of Laakshagriha (The House of Wax). One is in Uttar Pradesh and is known as Lakshagriha. It is situated 45 Kms from Allahabad. Presently, there is a big mound, which is believed to be originally made of wax and housed the palace intended to burn the Pandava brothers.
The second is situated in Uttarkhand, and is known as Lakhamandal. It has various temples and a cave shrine dedicated to various gods, along with the Pandava Brothers.
Ekachakra
The Pandavas stay in the village of Ekachakra in the guise of Brahmins. Kunti and Bhima then learn of a cruel and terrible rakshasa named Bakasura who has made a deal with the villagers that if he receives one villager a month to eat, he will not harm the villagers. Bhima sets out to eliminate this rakshasa. A great fight arises and Bhima with his might kills him. In order to avoid being identified, the Pandavas leave Ekachakra and move on.
Draupadi
In course of this exile the Pandavas are informed of a "competition" called a swayamvar taking place with the prize being the hand of the Panchal princess and the daughter of King Drupad, Draupadi. The Pandavas enter the competition in disguise as Brahmans, the task being to string a mighty steel bow and shoot with a steel arrow the eye of a rotating fish on the ceiling while concentrating on the reflection underneath. No king manages to come close to do so, being unable to lift the heavy bow! Karna, the only one who is able to lift the bow, is about to try when he is halted by Draupadi with the excuse that he is the son of a charioteer and should not participate. Arjuna, however, succeeds. When he returns with his bride, Arjuna goes to his mother to show her his prize, exclaiming, "Mother, I have brought you a present!". Kunti, not noticing the princess, tells Arjuna that whatever he has won must be shared with his brothers. To ensure that their mother never utters a falsehood, even by mistake, the brothers take her as a common wife. In some interpretations, Draupadi alternates months or years with each brother. At this juncture they also meet Krishna, who would become their lifelong ally and guide.
Indraprastha
Shakuni (Dhritarashtra's brother-in-law) and Duryodhana are furious when they learn that the Pandava brothers are alive and that King Dhritrashtra has agreed to send Vidur to call them back to Hastinapura. Karna, as usual, is ready to fight them, but Shakuni realizes that with King Drupada and Krishna on the Pandava's side it would be difficult to defeat them. Dhritrashtra consoles Duryodhana and assures him that his rights as the Heir Apparent to the throne of Hastinapur will be fully protected. In Kampilya, King Drupada and Krishna advise Yudhishthira to fight for his right to the throne of Hastinapura. Vidura arrives and tells the Pandava brothers that they have been invited back to Hastinapura along with their bride. The Pandavas and Draupadi return to Hastinapura. Dhritrashtra conceals his disappointment and orders an illustrious welcome. Determined to establish peace between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Bheeshma suggests giving half the kingdom to Yudhishthira Dhritrashtra agrees to this suggestion. Krishna and Balrama, also give their consent and it is decided that Yudhisthira's coronation as King of Indraprastha (the new land) be held in Hastinapura.
The land given to them however becomes another injustice committed against the Pandavas as it is neither popular nor agriculturally productive. Krishna consoles the Pandavas saying that Indraprastha is not a waste but instead an opportunity to create a Land of Action. Taking the advice of Krishna, the Pandavas make Indraprastha a beautiful and just kingdom.
The Rajsuya Yagna
Shortly after this, Arjuna and Subhadra (Krishna's sister) get married and return to Indraprastha to be welcomed by Draupadi. Here, Yudhishthira seeks Sri Krishna's advice on performing the Rajsuya Yagna (ceremony) which will make him the emperor of India. Krishna advises him that a certain King Jarasandha, who himself has imprisoned 86 kings, must be killed to prevent his interference in the ceremony. Yuddhisthira decides to send Krishna, Bheema and Arjuna to challenge Jarasandh in single combat. Jarasandha chooses to fight with Bheema. Bheema and Jarasandha - matched so equally in strength - fight for nearly fourteen days without rest. When Jarasandha finally showed signs of exhaustion, Krishna prompts, by tearing a blade of grass at the stalk, Bheema to make an end of him. After Jarasandha is destroyed, his son is crowned King of Magadh. The Rajsuya Yagna is successfully celebrated and Yudhishthira is recognized as an Emperor.
Purusha Mruga
Another legend talks about Bhima's enounter with the great Purusha Mruga. Purusha Mruga was renowned as one of the biggest devotees of Lord Shiva. As the name suggests, he was half man and half animal. Yudhishthira suggested that his presence in the Rajasuya Yagna would be most auspicious and assigned Bhima to invite the revered guest. Bhima on his way, is said to have met an old monkey who is Hanuman in disguise. After inquiring about the purpose of Bhima's journey, Hanuman plucks three strands of hair from his tail and hands it to him, saying it would be of help later. Taking blessings of Hanuman, Bhima continues on the journey. On meeting Purusha Mruga, Bhima introduces himself and requests the kind devotee's presence in the Rajasuya Yagna. Purusha Mruga calmly states that he would attend the ceremony only on one condition. Bhima has to run towards Hastinapur and he would try to catch him. In an event that Bhima is caught outside the boundary of Hastinapur, Purusha Mruga would eat him. Since Yudhishthira was very keen on Purusha Mruga's attendance, Bhima accepts the challenge.
Bhima runs very fast and is confident that he cannot be caught. He turns back, though, only to find Purusha Mruga gaining on him and almost about to catch him. Bhima remembers about the three hair strands which Hanuman gave him. He drops one of them and finds that it is replaced by millions of Shiva Lingam. Purusha Mruga, being a Shiva Bhakta, stops to pay his respects to each of these. Bhima, pleased by the boon, continues running, nevertheless. But soon he finds Purusha Mruga trailing him closely, after worshipping all the Shiva Lingams. He drops the second hair. The same process ensues. Similarly, Bhima drops the third hair too. Finally, when nearing the door of Hastinapur and almost crossing it, Purusha Mruga gets hold of Bhima's leg. Purusha Mruga tells Bhima that he would eat him now. Bhima, though, claims to have entered Hastinapur. At that moment, Yushishthira and Krishna arrive at the scene. After narrating the entire incident to Yudhishthira, Purusha Mruga demands justice. Yudhishthira, after considering the situation carefully, points out that Bhima's leg is the only part outside the boundary of Hastinapur and thereby, legally Purusha Mruga could eat only his leg. Pleased by the impartial and thoughtful justice imparted by Yushishthira (Dharmaraja), Purusha Mruga showers lavish praise on him and lets Bhima go. He blesses the Rajasuya Yagna and the Pandavas by attending the ceremony.
"The House of Illusion"
Duryodhan is unhappy about the prosperity of the Pandavs, Shakuni consoles him and later loses in a game of dice to Yudishthir. Duryodhan walks around Yudhishthir's 'Maya Mahal" ("The House of Illusion" built by Mayasura on Krishna's instructions) and falls into one of the pools. Draupadi laughs and says that the son of a blind man can only be blind. Duryodhan, Karna and Shakuni plan to avenge Draupadi for her taunting remarks.
Duryodhana's game
Duryodhana, who now has a friend in the peerless warrior Karna, is informed of Yudhisthira's becoming the emperor. This proves too much for Duryodhana who feels death would be better than watching one's foes prosper. His maternal uncle Shakuni, convinced that however brave his nephew may be, he is no match for his cousins, decides to use a ruse to destroy the Pandavas. He forces Dhritarashtra to invite the Pandavas for a game of dice in which he wins everything from Yudhishthira, including himself, his brothers and Draupadi through the use of a loaded die. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court. Her honour is saved by the grace of Krishna who through divine intervention has granted her a sari that does not end. Hence, the Kauravas are unable to disrobe her. Dhritarashtra is forced to restore everything to the Pandavas, when draupadi is about to curse the kingdom and Duryodhan's mother Gandhari intervenes and reminds Dhritarashtra that Draupadi's curse can destroy the kingdom and all his sons immediately. Shakuni forces another game of dice which he again wins. As a condition of his victory, the Pandavas are required to go into exile for 13 years, and on the 13th year must return to the kingdom but remain hidden. If discovered by the Kauravas, they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.
The Years in Exile
The Pandavas having lost the game of dice go on exile for 12 years and a year of hiding. During the period of exile, they visit many religious places and are often visited by Krishna. Draupadi who has been insulted by Dushasana (Duryodhan's brother), takes a vow never to tie up her hair until she had blood from Dushasana's chest to wash her hair with. This constantly reminds her husbands of how war was inevitable. Krishna advises Arjuna that since war was inevitable, he should enter heaven to seek the divine weapons held by Gods and that he who is favored by Lord Indra would be able to do so. Through the prayer of Lord Indra, Arjuna gains access to heaven from where he obtains the divine weapons and also learns how to use them. Finally, Lord Indra advises Arjuna to learn the art of dance as it would come to his aid in the 13th year of hiding.
The battle at Kurukshetra
When the Pandavas return from their exile after many hardships, they request for a peace treaty with the Kauravas to gain Indraprastha back. However, Duryodhan disagrees and argues that since the Pandavas were "caught" in their year of hiding, they must go into another 13 years of exile before they can have Indraprastha. The Pandavas on Krishna's advice again ask for a peace treaty asking for at least five villages for the five brothers, from the Kauravas' vast kingdom. Duryodhana refuses to give in. Krishna intervenes to mediate peace but is unsuccessful. War becomes inevitable.
The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The Kingdoms of Panchala, Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura and some other clans like the Parama Kambojas from Transoxiana were allied with the Pandavas; the allies of the Kauravas comprised the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya (Kekaya brothers who were enemies of the Kekeya brothers on the Pandava side), Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madras, Gandharas, Bahlikas, Kambojas (with Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas etc) and many others. Prior to war being declared, Krishna's brother, Balarama, had left to go on pilgrimage, thus he does not take part in the battle itself.
Arjuna, seeing himself facing grandsire Bhishma and his teacher Drona on Duryodhana's side due to their vow to serve the state of Hastinapur is heartbroken and at the idea of killing them he fails to lift his Gandiva bow. Krishna who has chosen to drive Arjuna's chariot wakes him up to his call of duty in the famous Bhagavad Gita section of the epic
The Bhagavat Gita is a scripture in which lord Krishna describes the meaning of life.All of our modern day questions is answered in the epic.
The discourse on the Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climactic battle at Kurukshetra. It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna (Bhagavan, or the Lord), for advice.
In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:
Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)
Jiva (The Soul)
Prakrti (Matter)
Karma (Action)
Kala (Time)
Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma, or universal harmony and duty. He begins with the tenet that the soul is eternal and immortal. Any 'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, but the soul is permanent. Arjuna's hesitation stems from a lack of right understanding of the 'nature of things,' the privileging of the unreal over the real. His fear and reticence become impediments to the proper balancing of the universal dharmic order. Essentially, Arjuna wishes to abandon the battle, to abstain from action; Krishna warns, however, that without action, the cosmos would fall out of order and truth would be obscured.
In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes, and understanding of the true nature of the universe. Krishna describes the yogic paths of devotional service, action, meditation and knowledge. Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond identification with the temporal ego, the 'False Self', the ephemeral world, so that one identifies with the truth of the immortal self, the soul or Atman. Through detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enter the realm of the Supreme.[16]
It should be noted, however, that Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be forgotten or neglected. Indeed, it is quite the opposite: one's life on earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths, one must embrace one's temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of a more timeless reality, acting for the sake of action without consideration for the karmaphal (karmic fruits, whether bitter or sweet). Such a life would naturally lead towards stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.
To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision (albeit temporary) and allows the prince to see his 'Universal Form' (this occurs in the eleventh chapter). He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe, and also its material body, called the Vishvarupa ('World Form').
In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna refers to the war about to take place as 'Dharma Yuddha', meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. In Chapter 4, Krishna states that he incarnates in each age (yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.
. Though initially sticking to chivalrous notions of warfare, the Kauravas and Pandavas soon descended into dishonourable warfare. At the end of the 18-day slaughter only the Pandavas, Satyaki and Krishna survive.Throughout the battle one billion are slaughtered.It is said that the battle is the main reason India declined.The pandava's sons nor anybody of the kuru dynasty is left with the exception of king Parikshith.Arjuna's son Ahbimanyu had impregnated Uttara before dieing in battle in unjustifyable circumstances as he was 16 and was surrounded by the top generals.Uttara gives birth to king Parikshith who rules the world perfectly and the world is still a Utopia.Krishna leaves to heaven so Parikshit is the only one to stop the effects of Kali Yuga.However on a trip to the forest he hunts wild animals that may threaten Brahmanas (holy men).When he sees a sage he was angered the sage is not giving him water or greeting him as he was extremely tierd.The sage is meditating and in deep concentration does not realize he is there.Parikshith maharaj finds a dead snake and hangs it on the sages neck.The sage did not feel it.Parikshit majaraj leaves.The sage's son Sringi is playing with his friends far off.He senses a disturbance and realizes what happened.He curses Parikshith maharaj to death after 10 days by being bittern by a snake-bird.During this time Parikshith maharaj realizes his time has come and goes off to pilgrimage.There he learns the srimad bhagavadam from Sukudev goswami.The prophecy does come true and he dies leaving no decendent.Thus India split up and the decline began,it is blamed because of Kurukshetra because all of the Pandava's decendents are killed as well as other nobel kings.The decline of the world also began.
This is pretty much why we believe India fell,the battle of Kurukshetra was to save the world from total devistation,but at the cost of Bharat(India).When Parikshith maharaj reigned mankind,the after effects of Kurukshetra was not present,thats because he was protecting the world,after many celestial and superhuman warriors were killed on the battlefield,nobody can protect mankind from Kali (the demon who reigns Earth when Kaliyuga begins),Parikshith Maharaj protected mankind from Kali,and for a time the true effects of the war that killed over a billion men was not shown,since Demi gods from heaven blessed the Earth in all kinds of ways.But after the death,society collapsed,and here we are,the land that once was visited by thousands of kings at a time,which held religion and spirituality to the greatest extent,which preserved heritage and realization for mankind,fell to its knees,became divided into different kingdoms,was easy to conquer,suffered Muslim invasions and was taken over by the British for 300 years.Anyway you can tell that despite all of that,Indian heritage and pride was able to live on even through all that,which makes one think "how was it like 5,000 years ago"?This is because,a single province in India had the military prowess to withhold and defeat Alexander the Great,a single province in eastern India was able to withhold a British attack and cripple and entire armada before it was captured,even through all this,Hindu heritage,Indian heritage still lives on,for now.
The last incarnation for this 4 age cycle is Kalki,whom rides a white celestial horse,and a shining sword,who will end the misery of mankind,reestablish the world,and this is said to happen in 432,000 years,and by that time,it is said that in the very end of the age,the world will resemble the planet Venus from the sky,there will be fire,corruption,disease,mass slaughter,cannibolism,all of it is described in the Srimad Bhagavadam (a 12 Canto Hindu scripture comrpising many thousands of pages).
This is another interesting fact,in the beginning of Kaliyuga,Vyasa Muni had to write down all of the scriptures into books,the Vedas,Upanishads,Puranas to preserve the Vedic knowledge,this was done because mankind was losing its ability to have the thinking power people of that time did.Anyway,scientists are puzzled by how accurate the Vedas are,the text is hard to interpert,and is thousands of years old,but ancient Indian astronomers (those in the beginning of Kali Yuga) were able to do computations involving astronomy that was not familiar to the rest of the world until 500 to 2000 years ago.The Vedas were the first ancient texts to state that suns are stars,that the Earth is round,that the Universe was created over 6 billion years ago (modern scientists say 12 billion,however western civilization 2,000 years ago thought it was 6,000).Vedic science also explained plank legnth,a unit of measurement that is the time it takes to cross an atom,Vedic astronomy also defined light speed,its amazing Bhakti Yoga (self realization) was able to do so much 4,000 years ago,even after Kali Yuga began.
These are the reasons why I am happy to be born Hindu,to be born Indian,my scriptures say that our race is temporary to this life time,but your status choses your duty,the duty of an Indian is supposed to preserve Vedic Heritage,to teach Bhakti Yoga to the rest of the world and to bring religion to the world,no matter what kind.But Indians today cannot accomplish that duty,so their status as a descendent from that land is wasted,an Indian fullfilling is superior to most people,an Indian under horrible influences is worser then westerners indulging in such activities,thats because the Indian has forgotten their duty.